A typical fiber optic cable 10 and connector 12 are shown in an exploded parts view in FIG. 1. The connecter 12 includes a crimp contact 14, bayonet housing subassembly 16, a crimp eyelet 18, and a ribbed strain relief 20. The crimp contact 14 includes a pre-installed optical fiber 22 having one end pre-polished. The strain relief 20, crimp eyelet 18, and housing subassembly 16 are positioned on the cable 10, as shown, and the end of the cable stripped back to expose the buffer material 24 and the optical fiber 26. Strength members 28, which run between the buffer material and the outer jacket, are also exposed. The tip of the optical fiber 26 is cleaved to a specific length and then is inserted into an opening 30 of the crimp contact 14 until it abuttingly engages the cleaved end of the optical fiber 22. The two ends are maintained in abutting engagement with a force of about 50 grams as the contact 14 is crimped onto the optical fiber 26 in the area indicated at 32. The housing subassembly 16 and crimp eyelet 18 are then slid into place and the eyelet crimped to secure the connector to the outer jacket of the cable 10. The strain relief is then slid into engagement with the crimp eyelet 18 to complete the termination. While large, complex, and expensive machinery may be utilized for such manufacturing operations, it would be desirable to utilize a less expensive hand tool. Hand tools for aiding in these manufacturing operations have been developed, however, holding the optical fiber 26 in abutting engagement with the end of the pre-installed optical fiber 22 while maintaining the desired level of abutting force is difficult to accomplish in a hand tool. Typically, a movable carriage holding the cable is used to move the end of the optical fiber into engagement with the connector. A spring acting on the carriage is used to supply the desired abutting force. However, the tool must be held in a horizontal position so that gravity does not adversely affect the operation of the tool. Should the tool be tilted slightly off the horizontal, the weight of the carriage mechanism operated on by the spring causes the carriage to tend to move in the direction of the tilt., independent of the operation of the spring. This, of course, adversely affects the reliability of the tool and of the termination.
What is needed is a hand tool for terminating an optical fiber cable to a connector that is simple to use, reliable, and is substantially unaffected by sudden movements or gravity should the tool be tilted somewhat during operation.